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15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,

“Should a wise man answer with vain knowledge,
    and fill himself with the east wind?
Should he reason with unprofitable talk,
    or with speeches with which he can do no good?
Yes, you do away with fear,
    and hinder devotion before God.
For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
    and you choose the language of the crafty.
Your own mouth condemns you, and not I.
    Yes, your own lips testify against you.

“Are you the first man who was born?
    Or were you brought out before the hills?
Have you heard the secret counsel of God?
    Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
What do you know that we don’t know?
    What do you understand which is not in us?
10 With us are both the gray-headed and the very aged men,
    much older than your father.
11 Are the consolations of God too small for you,
    even the word that is gentle toward you?
12 Why does your heart carry you away?
    Why do your eyes flash,
13 that you turn your spirit against God,
    and let such words go out of your mouth?

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Eliphaz Speaks Again

15 Then Eliphaz from Teman responded:

“Should a wise person respond with knowledge based on wind?
    Should he fill his stomach with a wind storm from the east?
Should he engage in unprofitable argument,
    or give a speech that benefits no one?
Yet you dispense with fear of God
    and hinder meditations before God.
Because your sin dictates your speech,[a]
    you have chosen the language[b] of the crafty.
Your own mouth is condemning you, not I;
    your own lips will testify against you.”

Eliphaz Claims that Job is Guilty

“Were you the first person[c]to be born?
    Were you brought forth before the hills were made?
Have you listened in on God’s secret council?
    Have you limited wisdom only to yourself?
What do you know that we don’t know,
    or that you understand and that isn’t clear to us?

10 “We have both the gray-haired and the aged with us,
    and they are far older[d] than your father.
11 Are God’s encouragements inconsequential to you,
    even a word that has been spoken[e] gently to you?
12 Why have your emotions[f] carried you away?
    And why do your eyes flash
13 that you turn your anger[g] against God
    and speak words like this?

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Footnotes

  1. Job 15:5 Lit. mouth
  2. Job 15:5 Lit. tongue
  3. Job 15:7 Lit. man
  4. Job 15:10 Lit. are older by many days
  5. Job 15:11 The Heb. lacks spoken
  6. Job 15:12 Lit. heart
  7. Job 15:13 Lit. spirit